School Faculty Raise Funds To Surprise Custodian With Car

Two teachers at Unity Grove Elementary in Locust Grove, GA found out the head custodian Chris Jackson had fallen on hard times over the summer and decided to help. Megan MacDonald and Jodi Combs noticed that the reliable fixture and smiling face known as Mr. Chris had been walking to work so they set out to help find him an affordable car. They found one but it was more that the $1,500 Jackson had saved for a new car.

MacDonald and Combs secretly got to work and were able to raise enough funds for Mr. Chris within minutes thanks to the generosity of the faculty of their school. On an unsuspecting August day, Jackson, who is always willing to help, was escorted to the school parking lot to help a teacher with her car but was given the shock of a lifetime instead. The heartwarming moment was shared to the school’s Facebook page where it quickly went viral.

In the video, MacDonald and Combs are seen leading Jackson to the parking lot where they put the car keys in his hand. His grateful reaction as he realized the car was for him garnered thousands of comments and unbeknownst to MacDonald and Combs, they happened to buy his dream car, a Chevrolet Impala. “There is a God,” Chris says with his hands extended in the air.

Jackson said he didn’t let his financial situation deter him despite feeling defeated. “I’m not going to just quit and run away. I put my pride aside and just come to work, smile, be me.”
He decided to trek to work because using public transportation added an hour and 40 minutes to his morning commute. But his dedication and work ethnic had not gone unnoticed by the faculty.

Combs said there has never been a day that he came to work without a smile on his face and the kids adore him so the staff pulled together to help with his most immediate need which was transportation. Jackson said “I never would have dreamt of something like this. This is mind-blowing to me.” Since the happy moment went viral, people from all over the country have contacted him and he says it was one of the greatest moments of his life.